Barford is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

district of

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

, England, about three miles south of

. As at the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,171, that increased to 1,336 at the 2011 census. The Joint parish council also runs the villages of Sherbourne and

Wasperton Wasperton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Warwickshire. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 153. It is on the east bank of the River Avon and is some south of the town of Warwick which is easily ac ...

. In March 2014 ''"

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

"'' listed the village as one of the Top 10 places to live in

The Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefords ...

. In the village there are two pubs, a hotel with swimming pool, and a village shop owned and run by the community. The

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

primary school that is in the village is called ''"Barford St. Peters"''. The University of Warwick Boat Club trains on the River Avon at Barford. Barford is served by

Stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...

bus routes X18 and 18A which link it with

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

Leamington Spa Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply LeamingtonEven more colloquially, also referred to as Lem or Leam (). (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Pri ...

, Warwick and

Stratford Upon Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-west o ...

. The

M40 motorway The M40 motorway links London, Oxford, and Birmingham in England, a distance of approximately . The motorway is dual three lanes except for junction 1A to junction 3 (which is dual four lanes) a short section in-between the exit and entry hig ...

is just 1.5 miles from the village, with

and Warwick Parkway railway stations just over 4 miles away.

History

Barford is mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

as a fair-sized settlement situated in the hundred of Tremlowe and in Warwickshire with a water mill. St Peter's Parish Church dates back to the 14th century although largely rebuilt in 1844 by Richard Charles Hussey, sponsored by Louisa Ryland. The floors are paved with local

Wilmcote Wilmcote is a village, and since 2004 a separate civil parish, in the English county of Warwickshire, about north of Stratford-upon-Avon. Prior to 2004, it was part of the same parish as Aston Cantlow, and the 2001 population for the whole a ...

stone. Westham House on Westham Lane is now cut off from the rest of the village by the A429 bypass. It was originally a 16th century farmhouse, before being rebuilt in the 18th century as a gentleman's hunting lodge. In World War II, the house was used by Seaford Ladies College. It is now converted into apartments. Barford House is a fine Grade II* listed Regency house, located on the main Wellesbourne Road through the village.

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...

was a frequent visitor in the 1920s and 1930s. A private asylum operated in Barford from 1833 until the early 1850s.

Notable people

* Joseph Arch (1826–1919), first president of the National Agricultural Labourers Union and Liberal MP. One of the two pubs in Barford is named after him and he is buried at St Peter's Church. * Annie Butler (4 June 1897 – 28 September 2009), English

supercentenarian A supercentenarian, sometimes hyphenated as super-centenarian, is a person who is 110 or older. This age is achieved by about one in 1,000 centenarians. Supercentenarians typically live a life free of significant age-related diseases until short ...

, who, aged 112, was the second-oldest person in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

until her death in 2009. *

John Fairfax John Fairfax (24 October 1804 – 16 June 1877) was an English-born journalist, company director, politician, librarian and newspaper owner, known for the incorporation of the major newspapers of modern-day Australia. Early life Fairfax was bo ...

(24 October 1804 – 16 June 1877), English-born journalist, is notable for the incorporation of the major newspapers of modern-day

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. * William Ivens (1878 – 1957), a religious and political figure in

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

. * Louisa Ryland (b.1814), heiress and philanthropist. * Wenman Wykeham-Musgrave (1899–1989), a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer who survived being torpedoed on three different ships on the same day in the action of 22 September 1914.

In Fiction

C. P. Snow's novel '' The New Men'' is set as a British nuclear experimental establishment in Barford where the characters try to build a nuclear pile and harvest enough enriched

uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...

plutonium Plutonium is a chemical element; it has symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is a silvery-gray actinide metal that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four ...

to beat US atomic bomb development. Snow’s characters are portrayed as

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

dons so he did not use the real United Kingdom nuclear Centre at Harwell, with its close association to

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. The novel describes the location: “For a site, they picked on a place called Barford – which I had not heard of, but found to be a village in

, a few miles from Stratford-upon-Avon”.

References

External links

Barford Community PortalBarford Cricket ClubBarford Heritage group.
* {{authority control Villages in Warwickshire Civil parishes in Warwickshire Warwick District